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Apple removes Clicker Heroes worldwide after Chinese company cloned, trademarked, and requested takedown.

Kalentan

Kalentan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,686
The developer of the PC and Mobile game Clicker Heroes went onto /r/gamedevs to post about what happened to their game:

Link to Post

The game is Clicker Heroes. We are currently losing $200-300/day because our game had to be taken down worldwide instead of just China.

This company, Shenzhen Lingyou Technology Co., Ltd., received a trademark for "点击英雄" in 2015 in China even though it was already being used in our game BEFORE they trademarked it.

In 2014 on an asian web portal (see the date on the page - 日期：2014-11-23), my game was already using "点击英雄":
http://www.4399.com/flash/147709.htm

Here is the 3rd party's trademark application: http://wsjs.saic.gov.cn/txnDetail.do?locale=zh_CN&request:index=2&request:tid=TID201502076251925784E278A62D728FFA0567ABB3A41&y7bRbP=KGDocqcp9RDp9RDp9KeG_7HvvYHkWX6jkClTZU5j1HWqqxl - which has a date of application of February 13, 2015. (They didn't wait long to steal it - less than 3 months!)

But despite explaining this as clear as I could to Apple and the 3rd party, Apple sided with the cloners and took my game down. We don't have the resources to fight a legal trademark battle in China so I guess that's the end of our game there.
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Ultimately this might be a lesson is making sure to get your trademark worldwide rather than in specific places but unsure if that would have prevented this. Others also pointed out that if they change the name they could probably get it back up.
 
Don Fluffles

Don Fluffles

Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,060
I think we should support the devs somehow. Further petition Apple to tell these scam artists to fuck off.
 
mindatlarge

mindatlarge

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,926
PA, USA
This is absurd to me. It's like Foakley going after Oakley and having their products removed worldwide. Completely crazy stuff.
 
KDR_11k

KDR_11k

Banned
Nov 10, 2017
5,235
Kalentan said:
Sadly I don't think they have a choice in this specific situation.

Though I do wonder why they didn't just remove it from the Chinese app store. Why everywhere?
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I think they want Apple to kill the copy app too instead of only the original that got trademark-hammered. Heck, why not....
 
HandsomeCharles

HandsomeCharles

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,919
Kalentan said:
Sadly I don't think they have a choice in this specific situation.

Though I do wonder why they didn't just remove it from the Chinese app store. Why everywhere?
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Apple could remove the Chinese clone if they wanted to. "Legally", they may have to remove the original, but there's nothing preventing them from also removing the clone. In my opinion, they should. Go all "Judgement of Solomon" on them. The Chinese government is very unlikely to do anything to prevent this from happening, so Apple should remove the incentive to do so. Check out the situation, and if it's obviously bullshit (Like this one is), remove both. (And then re-upload the original when the cloners back down)
 
Kouriozan

Kouriozan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,121
Looks like it's back. From the OP's link :

EDIT (Friday, May 24, 2019) - Apple contacted us today and said Clicker Heroes would be reinstated in regions outside of China, and the reinstatement should take effect in the next 1-3 days. The game will still be down in China (I assume until we change the name, and re-submit it, which we're not going to bother doing).
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s_mirage

s_mirage

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,773
Birmingham, UK
Shitty, but it's generally wise to make sure you've got trademarks in all applicable markets.

Hell, my memory is a little rusty, but didn't this sort of thing happen to id with Quake 20 odd years ago? IIRC they announced the name before they had all of the trademarks and someone, possibly in Germany, applied for the trademark before they did. Id had to buy the trademark from them, in one region at least, if I'm remembering things right.
 
Xiao Hu

Xiao Hu

Chicken Chaser
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
1,497
China has a loooooong way ahead in terms of intellectual property law. The legal abuse and trolling over there is grotesque albeit it has been getting better in recent years.
 
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